Acting Lt. Grad Elarionoff of Hawai‘i police honored as 2024 Officer of the Year

The Hawai‘i State Law Enforcement Officials Association honored Hawai‘i Police Department Area II Vice Section Acting Lt. Grad Elarionoff as Officer of the Year during their 68th annual conference on Kaua‘i last week.

Acting Lt. Elarionoff was honored for his efforts in leading investigations that successfully interrupted two high-end drug trafficking organizations that were importing and distributing large amounts of crystal methamphetamine on Hawai‘i Island.

A 25-year veteran of the department, Acting Lt. Elarionoff has worked in vice for nine years and is currently serving as the acting lieutenant of the Area II Vice Section. In the last year, his efforts have rid the Big Island’s communities of:

• 82 pounds of methamphetamine
• 346 grams of illicit fentanyl
• 200 fentanyl pills
• 17.1 pounds of marijuana
• 5.7 grams of heroin
• 4.4 grams of cocaine

“Acting Lt. Elarionoff is incredibly passionate about reducing the amount of drugs in our island community and holding drug dealers accountable for their crimes,” said Police Chief Benjamin Moszkowicz.

In February 2024, after a lengthy investigation, Acting Lt. Elarionoff obtained and executed search warrants at a residence in Kona, resulting in the recovery of more than 11 pounds of methamphetamine and the arrests of two individuals.

Following the initial recovery, Acting Lt. Elarionoff identified an upline dealer on O‘ahu. When the O‘ahu dealer shipped a parcel to Hawai‘i Island in April 2024 containing 6.5 pounds of methamphetamine, police intercepted and recovered the parcel. They were able to arrest the dealer and recover an additional six pounds of methamphetamine.

A separate year-long investigation spearheaded by Acting Lt. Elarionoff involved a mainland drug trafficking organization suspected of smuggling narcotics to the island via different airlines, using fake identifications in an effort to evade detection.

In May 2024, Area II Vice officers developed information on a suspected trafficker on an inbound flight from the mainland. Based on developed information, an elusive drug dealer who was suspected of smuggling hundreds of pounds of narcotics to Hawai‘i Island and Maui was arrested and is now facing federal charges. As part of this investigation, 20 pounds of methamphetamine were also recovered.

Acting Lt. Elarionoff also leads the Hawai‘i County Ice Task Force, which in the last fiscal year has investigated 140 offenses, executed 17 search warrants, arrested 32 individuals and recovered approximately 39.3 pounds of crystal methamphetamine, 4.4 grams of cocaine, 17.1 pounds of marijuana, 5.7 grams of heroin, 346 grams of fentanyl powder and 200 fentanyl pills.

Given that just two milligrams of illicit fentanyl is considered a lethal dose, the 346 grams of fentanyl recovered by the Ice Task Force is enough to potentially kill 173,000 thousand Hawai‘i Island residents.